Eyewitness (1981)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Peter Yates

Writer:

Steve Tesich (writer)

Release Date:

13 February 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

You're never more vulnerable than when you've seen too much.

Plot:

Manhattan janitor Daryll Deever is fixated on hard-charging TV commentator, Tony Sokolow; he tapes her commentary daily to watch after work...

Plot Keywords:

Janitor | Racial Slur | Murder | New York | Television Reporter

Cast

William Hurt	...	Daryll Deever
Sigourney Weaver	...	Tony Sokolow
Christopher Plummer	...	Joseph
James Woods	...	Aldo Mercer
Irene Worth	...	Mrs. Sokolow
Kenneth McMillan	...	Mr. Deever
Pamela Reed	...	Linda Mercer
Albert Paulsen	...	Mr. Sokolow
Steven Hill	...	Lieutenant Jacobs
Morgan Freeman	...	Lieutenant Black
Alice Drummond	...	Mrs. Eunice Deever
Sharon Goldman	...	Israeli Woman
Chao Li Chi	...	Mr. Long, International Trading Ltd. / Murder Victim
Keone Young	...	Mr. Long's Son
Dennis Sakamoto	...	Vietnamese Man #1

Also Known As:

The Janitor

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Central Park Lake, Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

In order to research his character, William Hurt actually moonlighted as a janitor before production on the film began and it would prove vital throughout the film.

Goofs:

Plot holes: There is a security camera very obviously placed in the outer office outside of where the murder takes place- yet nobody ever goes to view the tapes during the investigation

Quotes:

Lt. Jacobs: When he was a kid, Aldo must have wanted to be a suspect when he grew up.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Hot Shots! (1991)

An unusual thriller

William Hurt stars as the brooding janitor in this sub-Hitchcockian thriller directed by Peter Yates (Bullitt). No-one in the film is quite what they seem, and Hurt plays the role of ambivalent hero/anti hero intelligently. Sigourney Weaver shows what a fine actress she really is whilst Christopher Plummer adds gravitas to the proceedings. Like Benton's Still Of The Night the film is well-crafted and often intriguing. Definitely well worth watching.